Passion and Control
by SLUGGJELLY
Summary: Mako teaches Wu how to fight.


**Foreword**

 _This is a very old fanfiction I never formally published anywhere until now. It's actually a part two, but now I can't find the first part anywhere. It was by far the best part, and I almost want to cry over it. If I ever do find it, I'll post it. It was about that morning when they got out of bed and got ready for their day. So far, this is the closest I've gotten:_

 _sluggjelly. tumblr post/113352154646/help-me-polish-a-wuko-fanfiction_

 _Anyway, read my shit. I actually don't remember at all what the contents of this fic are anymore, but I won't remind myself by reading it now, because I might make myself cringe and change my mind about publishing it. Hope you enjoy._

 **Passion and Control**

Mako and Wu stood alone in a vast gymnasium, both wearing an ensemble of shorts, a tank top, and a helmet. The polished wooden floor squeaked beneath their sneakers. Two wide doors situated halfway between the left and right walls on either side separated Mako and Wu from everything beyond, and benches parallel to the left and right walls were bolted to the floor off to the side. A clock hung up over each door as the sole tethers to the outside world.

"Come on, hit me! Throw a punch, I can take it!" Mako demanded as an unsure Wu stood nervous before him, holding up his fists. Mako maintained a steady stance holding up targets as he waited for a blow. Wu whined, "I know, I know! That's the problem! You're just so strong and I'm so… not-so-strong." Mako squinted an eye at Wu. It wasn't like him to be this down on himself without provocation. "I already knew that, but look, just don't worry about it. That's why I'm training you! Now come on -hit me!" Mako repeated.

Wu readied himself, took a deep breath, and carefully struck a blow with his right fist onto a target.

"Okay, good! That's certainly a start, but I know you can do better! Try again."

"Alright!" Wu gleamed at Mako's encouragement. He took another breath, and sent his right fist hurling toward the target, ending with a thump, and Mako moved the target back to break the impact. Wu lost his balance briefly, causing him to sway, but he quickly steadied himself.

"Okay," said Mako, "that one certainly had more passion -little too much, actually- but look at your stance now. You've gone off your center of gravity."

Wu did as he was instructed, and saw that his feet were now closer together than when he started. He was a little embarrassed by this, and shuffled his stance back to the original position.

Mako continued, "When you swung at me, you shifted your whole body. I saw you move your feet, but you had no control. Defense is about both passion and control."

Mako put the targets down and walked up to Wu. He went on to explain, " It's important to keep your shoulders leveled with each other. When you throw a punch, pay attention to how they move in conjunction with the other." Mako put his hands on Wu's shoulders and guided them to a more stable position. "Control your momentum, and be aware of how it flows."

Mako looked at Wu's expression and saw he was already sweating some, and… blushing at him? Mako felt his face warm up, too, but he ignored it. This was training time, after all! They could do all the romantic stuff afterward, like Wu had promised, yet Mako felt so tempted—

"I think I've got it," spurted Wu as he cut through the brief silence, "Try me again. I'm ready!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Mako responded, both relieved and pleasantly surprised by Wu's enthusiasm. Mako picked the targets up stepped back into his initial stance. "Okay, give me four good hits: right, left, right, left. Go!" Wu smirked and lowered his brows, and delivered four determined blows in rapid succession as instructed.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Mako, "You're a really fast learner! Do it again! Faster!"

Every time Wu finished his series of punches, Mako would bark:

"Again!"

"Faster!"

"Again!"

"Again!"

"Faster!"

"Yes, harder!"

As this exercise continued for a while, Wu's confidence and proficiency steadily rose, and Mako seemed to smile a little wider with every strike. Mako eventually halted his commands, breathing heavily but grinning from ear to ear. "Wu!" he remarked after a pause to collect himself, somewhat shaken from the barrage, "Great job! I told you you could do it!"

Wu put his fists down and looked with excitement at his trainer, trying to catching his breath. "Wow… I've never seen you smile like that before!" observed Wu, outwardly delighted to have caused Mako such joy. Wu bent over, putting his hands on his knees. "Whew! I've never worked that hard in my life!"

Mako set down the targets on the floor. "Then I bet you've never sweated like that before, either," he teased.

Wu stood back up and his eyes widened when looked at his shirt which was now drenched in sweat on his chest. Wu yelped in surprise and cried, "Eww, gross! I'm sorry you had to see that! This is so embarrassing!" He fumbled with his shirt, trying to wrestle the wet mess off of himself.

"No, no! Don't do that! It's okay. Really!" Mako interjected, flustered by Wu's foolhardy reaction. Wu stopped dead in his tracks, but the shirt was already around his head, stuck on his helmet.

"Uhh, a little help?" uttered Wu in a bashful voice as he tried to pull his shirt back down from its awkward position. Mako sighed in exasperation. "Just calm down, okay? Relax." he requested as he grabbed the sides of Wu's shirt and helped to guide them down. "O-okay." Wu said as he began to calm himself and Mako set him straight again.

"There. See? You're fine." Mako pecked Wu on the cheek, and neither of them cared anymore how sweaty he was. Wu said, "I think this calls for a break." Mako agreed, "Yeah, we both need to stay hydrated."

Mako put his arm around Wu's shoulders as they went to the benches, and they sat beside each other. They lifted off their helmets and set them beside them on the bench, and Wu ran his fingers through his hair. Mako pulled two bottles of water out of the bag of equipment beside him and handed a bottle to Wu, who proceeded to drink it immediately.

"Now," began Mako, "do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Wu almost choked on his water. "What?! Nothing! I have no idea what you mean!" he insisted. Could Mako really see through him that easily? Mako's brows furrowed with concern. "Come on, don't give me that. I know something is bothering you. You can't fool me; I'm a cop, remember?"

Wu sighed and looked downcast, pouting his lip. He began to say in a hushed tone, "It's just… you're… so wonderful and I…-" Mako pulled a towel out of the bag and gently draped it over Wu's shoulders. Wu took one end of it in his hands and buried his face in it, soaking away his sweat and hiding his expression. Mako reassuringly placed a hand on Wu's back.

Wu slowly lifted his head from the towel, still looking at the floor, and spoke again, "I'm just some spoiled rich diplomat from the upper ring of Ba Sing Se. I never had to lift a finger for myself, living in the lap of luxury while you and your family struggled to get by. Now you've saved thousands of lives from Kuvira, and here I am barely taking care of myself. I don't deserve someone as amazing as you."

"Wu, we're already dating. You don't need to prove anything to me." Mako chuckled. "I… I might not be good at saying this, and I know it sounds corny or overdone or whatever, but -" Mako paused, looking into Wu's emerald eyes that were now sparkling at him with curiosity, and he solemnly continued, "but I love you just the way you are. I should have been more open to you. I'm sorry I made you feel this way. You… you do know I love you, right?"

Wu smiled and leaned his head on Mako's shoulder, reaching over to interlock Mako's hand with his own. He softly responded, "It wouldn't hurt to remind me every once in a while… I love you, too, Mako. I don't know what I would do without you."

"You're pretty amazing, too, you know," Mako began, "You shouldn't compare yourself to me. Remember when you helped evacuate all those people from Republic City and saved them from that giant robot? I may have been the one to shut it down, but what you did was just as important, and you did that without me. I think you're a great leader and you don't need muscles to prove it, but if you want to be able to protect yourself, I am more than happy to help…." Mako shifted his attention toward his left arm, scarred almost to his elbow from the lightning incident months prior. "I don't know what I would do with myself if you got hurt because I couldn't protect you."

"And not just because you're my bodyguard?" asked Wu.

Mako sighed and rested his cheek on the top of Wu's head. "Of course not. You mean so much to me; don't forget that."

Wu lifted away from his boyfriend's comforting shoulder and peered into his fiery amber eyes -warm and intense, hot with desire, reflecting back at him. Mako reached out cupped Wu's cheek in his hand and Wu tilted his head into it, losing himself in Mako's heat. He wondered if it must have been some kind of firebending that put him under this spell as he slowly shut his eyes and exhaled with deep satisfaction.

To Wu's surprise, he felt a breath return to him in response. He peeked through his eyelids to see what was happening to find Mako leaning in. Their heartbeats raced, pounding in their ears as shut their eyes, and their lips pressed firmly together. Wu reached his arm around to Mako's back and carefully pulled them closer. Mako slid his hand from Wu's cheek to cradle his head as Wu separated his lips over Mako's, Wu's tongue gently brushing against Mako's soft lips. Mako yielded to the subtle tender invitation, and their tongues met, igniting a spark of sweet indulgence and fulfillment, eagerly sharing the moment alone together. The world around them turned to static as they were consumed by each other's affections. The feeling quickly grew far too strong for either to bear, and both found it unsuitable to engage in this much longer.

They reluctantly pulled away from the warmth of each other's lips, and gazed into each other's eyes, feeling their breath on each other's faces in one final moment of bliss, faces flushed crimson with a fiery passion. Their heartbeats finally started to decelerate, and they both welcomed this calming release of intensity.

Just then, the couple heard gym doors swing open, promptly yanking them out of their affectionate stupor. Mako swept away from Wu, still blushing as he hid his mouth in the crook of his arm, feeling the cool wetness of his lips in it. Wu looked up to see three strangers walking in with their own equipment in tow. "That must be our cue to get going," he observed.

"Must be," Mako agreed. "What time is it, anyway?" He rhetorically inquired they both shifted their attention to a clock up on a wall. It was already noon. Wu started to pack up their things as he suggested, "Come on -let's get back to the room and get cleaned up, then I'm taking us out for lunch. Sound good?" "Yeah, I'd like that," Mako said, one side of his lip curling up into a smile.

As the two departed the building hand in hand, Mako snickered. "I'm proud of you. You made a lot of progress today, but you'll be really sore in the morning." Wu hung his head and whimpered. "I don't suppose you have a tea for that, do you?" Mako thought for a moment.

"I guess we'll be sleeping in tomorrow."


End file.
